"Why can't I be special?"

You don't have to look very far to see a girl or guy who has everything going for him/her. A crowd of family at every ball game holding up signs for them. A new, CUTE outfit every week or the most expensive athletic gear. Teachers patting them on the back and praising them to everybody. Lots of admiration from the opposite sex. Friends who loyally stick up for them and give them endless attention. Any rumors you hear about them are compliments, not criticism.

Then there's you. Some of you have let the stress and strain of lugging this around come out in your reactions to other people. If you haven't gone public with your "secret," others can be perplexed by your over-reactions to common situations. Or, if you HAVE gone public, you may be suffering from rejection due to people's fears and misunderstandings. Whatever the reasons, people may very well be avoiding you.

It is very hard for you to watch your peers having their dreams come true before your very eyes - a magical prom, a golden scholarship, a dream job. And you're stuck just arguing yourself into dragging out of bed every day. It seems like those youthful dreams were shattered for you in a short ten minutes. You feel like you're watching your chances slip away with every day that passes. You feel older than everybody else around you.

What do you want? What do you want for your future? Forget what happened to you for just a minute - quit giving yourself excuses not to do these things. Write down what you want your tomorrows to look like. College? Career? Boyfriend? Best friend? Your own car? Kids? A full week without being called to the principal's office? A day without fighting with somebody? Getting all your fines and tickets paid off?

What is one thing you can do today to get there? Apologize to somebody? Study for the big test for two hours? Call someone to meet you at the mall? Ask your teacher for extra work to bring up your grade? Go fill out a job application? Get a haircut?

And I know you don't feel like doing this, but I have to say it. Spend time with God today. I know you're all mixed up about Him and you just feel like staying away, but don't. Dust off your Bible and read something in it - maybe a chapter anywhere in the Psalms. And then pray a little. If you can't speak the words, write them down. Do something to connect with God. You're not gonna' have everything figured out about Him or your situation, but you've got to have His help. You may not see it or feel it, but He will help you somehow. God REALLY DOES love you. He KNOWS you're special, even if it seems like noone else on earth knows that (including your own self).

"I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are Thy works, and that my soul knoweth right well." (Psalm 139:14)